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Growing up in North Carolina, the Billy Graham crusades were on our TV whenever my mother could find him. It was a given, that he appeared regularly as I walked through our den listening to his words of hope and encouragement. It helped that my Aunt, my mother’s sister lives in Montreat and is close to some of the Graham family that eventually I became friends with.

I must admit those young years I took it for granted how his sermons were just a part of our life. Now, they are Biblical orations of wisdom and knowledge that I treasure.

In 1993 I moved to Black Mountain, NC which is directly connected to Montreat where Dr. Graham and his family have lived for decades. I joined the church there that they attended and became friends with Ruth’s nephew and his wife through my Aunt. My daughter played often with their son and we split time between our house and theirs which was the Bell Family home for the children to play.

The home was full of memorabilia and souvenirs from China where Ruth’s parents had been missionaries. Antiques and heirloom furniture that had been handed down filled the house with love and a true sense of family.

If you have the privilege as I did to get to know any of the Graham family, you will find them to be genuine, private and protective. I never once thought it as a celebrity relationship…they were my friends.

Twice before Dr. Graham retired from preaching I heard him preach at the Montreat Evangelical Presbyterian church. This beautiful rock chapel in the heart of Montreat is a sight to behold. Dr. Graham felt very at home there and his words resonated throughout the congregation. Now, I remember them as being 2 of the most historical times in my life. I also heard Franklin preach their once. I was also able to hear one of the last times George Beverly Shea sang “How Great Thou Art” before he passed away.

One Sunday morning after that, I sat in a pew at the 11 o’clock service by myself by the window. Suddenly beside me was Ruth Graham. She had wheeled herself in by her wheelchair and parked right next to me. We had a nice chat as if we had known each other for quite some time.

I worked for 12 years at the local Chamber of Commerce. Tourists came from all over the country to visit the home of Dr. Billy Graham. It was always a disappointment to them when we had to tell them going to his house was not possible. Some would actually get angry they had traveled 1000 miles only to find out they were not allowed near his estate. Unfortunately, the way of the world and its threatening situations had forced the family to acquire necessary security measures for them to remain there.

As the news spread that Dr. Graham had passed away, my heart flooded with memories and thoughts of how this man has touched my life even though I never met him personally.

His simple message of God giving us salvation through Jesus kept me believing when times have been hard and difficult. His presence on this earth and in an area very close to my heart that I don’t live in anymore, always gave me a sense of feeling protected. Maybe it’s because I know God protected that man and his family with supernatural guardianship and countless angels. Those blessings of protection seem to flow outward to those of us who listened to him and know Jesus.

Maybe it’s more of the personal connection that I have to Dr. Graham and his family that has had the most profound effect on me. The truth of their honest, unpretentious and unaffected lives they have lived is a testimony in itself.

And now it’s time for the mantle he carried to spread over this earth for a much needed conversion revival.

What Dr. Graham has preached, his family lives.

Dr. Graham’s words are their heart and soul.

His steadfast faith and love for God is the cornerstone of the Graham family.

They are the real thing.

“Being a Christian is more than just an instantaneous conversion – it is a daily process whereby you grow to be more and more like Christ.”

It’s one of the incomprehensible Biblical miracles. One of those moments in history we have to let truly, “sink” in at the enormity of it.

Most of us, and if you’re like me hate the storms of life and especially getting stuck in the middle of one. The disciples were in a boat at the 3am hour, (why on earth would anyone want to be fishing at such a time I don’t know) and the storm approached with a vengeance. The winds roared. The waves crashed the boat and the sky lit up with lightning. A death watch.

But then….a man comes out of nowhere walking on the water. Of course they reacted as we would have with total fear of a ghost. Once they realized it was their beloved Jesus, Peter wants to go to him. As Jesus instructed, Peter stepped out on the water and began the walk of his life.

This walk has become famous. The line, “walking on water” has been used as a metaphor, comparison or a figure of speech in many conversations. It probably has been spoken by those who don’t even believe it.

I read today from Rev. Heather Butler these words about Peter’s legendary steps.

“Are you in the boat, is the storm raging, the Lord calls you to come, the wind and the waves are not an obstacle to you… Jesus didn’t change the molecular structure of the waves to accommodate Peter, rather He changed Peter the man and enabled him to accommodate the Word… The truth of the Word was the stepping stones that paved the wave for Peter to step out upon a pathway that led to Jesus.”

Did you get that?

Jesus didn’t change the storm; he changed Peter. Jesus gave Peter what he needed to do. He gave him what His word said.

He assisted Peter to do the impossible. He told him what to do. He gave Peter a promise that if he would come to Him walking on the water, Jesus would take care of him.

But why didn’t Jesus just respond to Peter’s request with, “Hey Peter, I’ll join you guys in the boat?”

That would’ve been too easy. It wouldn’t have been a life lesson. And what would history be without this story?

Jesus gave Peter a test while his friends watched with bated breath.

A test to keep his eyes fixed on His Lord, or sink.

Does this sound familiar?

It’s been the story of my life especially for the last 5 years.

Instead of God stopping the storms of our lives, he leaves the rage all around us to do what?

For Him to show up.

You can’t have a miracle without a crisis.

You can’t get a fix for that crisis without Jesus.

And the bottom line is none of us, can get through a moment without God.

Peter had to depend on Jesus.

It was either a dependence to keep on walking or that Jesus would catch him if he began to sink.

Peter did both. Just like we do.

When you’re going through hell, keep going.

Just make sure you know who you’re looking at while you’re going through it.

Key factors in her story focus on the so-called legitimacy of those who believe in causes opposed to those who believe in God. My interpretation was she discovered “causes” are often leaders into vitriol and self-proclaimed promotion.

As was her case, for decades she believed her leftist ideology was true, real and the only one out there that mattered. As I read her descriptions of this philosophy, I felt I was reading a foreign language. Forgive my ignorance, but I wouldn’t be able to be a leftist simply because it’s too hard to comprehend. If I were, they would kick me out for not understanding how it works or how they think.

It was so far out, I couldn’t wrap my brain around it. My summation of it is a sordid communication built upon one explosion of anger after another. Anyone who decides to show up in that arena should be prepared for wicked adjectives, pronounced declarations of vengeance and lists of expletives filtered through each decree. NO wonder so many are depressed, full of sorrow and sad.

Evidently she found this out herself through a major affliction that changed her life some 20 years ago. In her desperate surgeries and the effort to get well, the only person that made a difference in her life was a nun. This nun would check on her and give her money/gift cards to help pay for that which she couldn’t afford anymore since her sickness had caused her to go broke. No one of the left-winged protesting group offered her any hope, much less a hand. But this nun and her loving generosity got Dr. Goska thinking.

She began to actually see the difference in love and hate.

Out of the 10 reasons she left the left, was the basis of it is born out of pure hate.

She had known nothing but hate for George Bush. Hate for Conservatives and hate for Christians until this quiet woman of faith showed her, love.

As a very educated, intellect, the idea of “love” as a way to do good, had not been a part of her life. Everything she did was out of hating something or someone because that is what the left does. Somehow, she discovered that was very wrong.

It helped me understand where they start from. It’s easy to hate something you don’t understand. Since you don’t understand it, you can fight it and conjure in your mind you have that right.

She has come a long way from where she began. In the end of her story, she said it was the “hate” of everything the left believes in that was enough to change her course. That “hate” is the discord they use to do whatever they want, whenever they want not caring who they hurt or what they have to do to accomplish their goal. It is a basis of no accountability which I believe is their underlining aim.

“If I don’t have to answer to anyone, then I can do whatever I want.” This is a mindset straight from Hell.

Sorry, but we all have to answer to God whether you believe in Him or not.

God is love which is why they hate him. Or any of us who believe in Him. We are considered the enemy, not an extended arm of love or genuine care.

John 13:34, “Love one another.” This is a command from God, not a “please do this,” but an order.

I say we start today, even one person at a time and watch God change the world.

These self-imposed flattery events are just that….filled with Hollywood elites who have lost touch with what is really important.

They are no longer ads for future actor’s roles but platforms to spew hate and vitriol towards anyone who disagrees with them. Fortunately, the ratings have dropped to the lowest in years but it is bothersome that still over 30 million people glue themselves to such a waste of time.

In case you haven’t figured it out I don’t watch them. The only reason I am writing about it is to sign in on the other side.

I use to wonder if Oscar knew how he was being treated…Does he have any idea who filters through the auditorium of red carpet celebrities just to win Oscar, take him home and sit him on shelf to collect dust.

Does Oscar and his many friends have any clue the funneled money of fashion, jewelry, fancy cars and gifts could be used otherwise?

Melt him down and he could aid in what many of these entertainment communities fight so hard for….such as; (that is without using their own personal finances)

All these are worthy to be recognized as needing help. However the Hollywood crowd is very political in who they choose to support. While Matt Damon and George Clooney play shoot-em-up-cowboy with guns and rifles they yell and scream at anyone else who uses those weapons as self-defense backing up any politician who agrees with them to pursue gun control.

While stars believe abortion is a right not a life, they promote those who are medically trained in such murder.

While many in the acting/music industry believe anyone who doesn’t agree with their politics is intolerant, they use these platforms to bash our new President and anyone who supports him. HUH?

But what about the other people. You know. The Americans who really deserve awards?

First Responders: Police, Firefighters, Paramedics, Rescuers

Missionaries

Hospital workers, Doctors, Nurses

Pastors

Sunday school teachers

Private education

Military/Veterans

My aunt and uncle were missionaries to Mexico many years ago. The major earthquake that hit was not far from where they lived. We didn’t know for weeks if they survived. She later told me how it devastated the already poor country.

My cousin, their daughter was in Banja Luka, Bosnia when it was at war. She hid in a friend’s apartment for weeks just to stay alive. She taught English and Spanish at the University there helping many students grow in education as a missionary who also brought many of them to Christ.

Presently my cousin and his family, their son have moved to Germany and are ministering to many Muslim refugees. It is a dangerous calling; one which he has to keep private.

And then there is our military which really hits home with me. Living near one of the largest Jet Fighter Training bases in the world for almost 10 years has given me a whole new perspective of what sacrifice means.

A Major, told me a few years ago after being deployed to Iraq for 12 months he was, “so glad to get home because he was tired of getting shot at.”

My next door neighbor who has since retired and moved away was a pilot for 20 years. He flew every aircraft available and served in many operations. He would not talk about it.

Our neighbor now is in the new division of Army personnel at this base since President Obama shut one down in Atlanta a few years ago. His job is deciphering intelligence. As I probed him a few weeks ago for any information I thought I could get, all he responded with was, “There is a whole lot going on in the world right now.” He spoke it with a very strong sense of concern.

So again I ask, Oscar who?

As Americans where are our priorities?

Oscar and his friends probably would like to be more useful.

Instead of a superstar’s reflection of their own past achievements in a comfortable, protected environment, maybe we should be celebrating and supporting those who are the real heroes who live and work daily in life or death circumstances.

Then Oscar and his friends can throw out that can of Pledge.

Isaiah 58:10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

Technology is mind boggling and necessary in our modern society but like many advances it comes with its problematic issues.

Never mind the Linksys router we’ve been using for years wasn’t on my radar for radical change; like buying a new one. After a morning of endless paperwork especially taxes on my laptop all of a sudden I had no internet connection. Our daughter confirmed she had none either so through numerous channels of communication discovered the router had finally died.

Net Gear found a new home re-connecting us not only to the internet but giving us a better signal all over the house.

The next day, I continued my journey with our taxes only to realize the printer wasn’t connected wirelessly so I couldn’t print anything. Ugh.

I am by no means a computer whiz, but after 20 years using these devices I have learned one or two things. Remembering how it was connected using my laptop before I began the process.

A few hours later, pulling my hair out as to why it wasn’t working, I sat on the phone twice with Net Gear for 20 minutes each waiting for the free tech support that came with our purchase. No agent ever answered. The next option was a chat online which resulted in the agent telling me this wasn’t a Net Gear problem but a printer problem. So much for free support. I’m sure this agent was well qualified to figure out the problem but chose otherwise making it a service warranty marketing tactic instead. Not buying it.

Frustration began to take over so I quit working on it punishing myself for not being able to do what appeared to be easy. Sitting down for a rest, I prayed.

“God, I know you know the printer isn’t connected and I need to use it. Please help or send me someone who knows how to do this. Thank you.”

Honestly, 10 minutes later my doorbell rang.

My next door neighbor who never comes to our door, and is one of my tenants was standing there. He’s an Army man and asked about their lease making sure they could remain in the house until 2018 when he would get his orders to move.

“I will speak to the owner but see no problem with that. Only right now I couldn’t even print you out a lease because my printer isn’t connected to our new router.”

An hour later he diagnosed the problem. The printer needed to rest so he told me to try the next day repeating what he had done. Informing him of how I had beaten myself up over this lack of knowledge he said they have IT people specifically trained at the base that spend their time all day long identifying problems with their computer systems which is how he knew what to do. And for the record it wasn’t anything I had seen before.

After he left, I thanked God.

There is no doubt in my mind God sent him to my door.

There is no doubt God knew this man would answer my need.

There is no doubt this was a Divine Connection God set up.

God wants to be a part of every area in our lives but we have to ask and communicate our needs to Him most of the time before He will answer. There have been times in my life when I didn’t even know I had a need and God supplied it without me having any idea it was coming. He did that because I was so focused on what was so vitally important to begin with that He took care of that which was completely out of my control.

Our relationship with Christ is the key here. When the lines of communication are open 24/7 with God, not only does He supply, surprises become a fringe benefit. He also protects us from that which we don’t know we need protecting from.

I commune with God off and on all day long, every day. It’s like a never ending conversation. Little prayers like, “God help me with this,” or “God what is your take on this particular subject” go a long way. And as always, He loves it when our gratitude is also never ending. Being thankful to God is like making deposits in a bank account that just keeps growing.

Knowing God intimately produces love, healing and peace which often leads to answers to crucial questions we may have along the way. Even questions that may seem trivial.

In all my 62 years on this earth I have never known people to be so mean and hateful.

Sure, there have always been bullies but not to the extent there is today. It has become extreme and belligerent.

As one who was always smaller than most of those in my class age group, I was picked on a lot. Many gave me nicknames like, “little bit” or “shorty’ or “redhead” but it was rare the accusations were directed to annoy or offend me. That isn’t the case today.

We have become a society of loathing and abhorrence because of a lack of discipline, not to mention the enemy has been on a roaring rampage for decades. That’s no excuse. We have to change this hostile atmosphere.

My daughter was going through a lot during her younger years. As a child of a single parent in an area where divorce had not hit to the high percentage rates of today, she was bullied by a classmate. She was only 6 or 7 when this young girl began insulting and tormenting her along with a few of her miserable friends. For a while, I paid little attention to her complaints. As time passed, it was quite noticeable she wasn’t making any of this up.

My concern grew to a breaking point when I would pick her up from school only to find her crying. She was already dealing with enough without the harassment of an obviously spoiled and jealous child.

The next day I called the principal and asked to meet with her teacher along with the student in question. The appointment was made for that afternoon.

The teacher, appeared to have no idea at all this had been happening. In fact, she made it clear to me this child I was accusing was a perfect student with top grades but so was my daughter. Only my daughter wasn’t hateful and mean to the other students. The bully watched me speaking to her teacher with total dread in her eyes.

She knew she had been caught. It was apparent she played the innocent, sweet child with the teacher but treated others with distaste and mockery when the teacher wasn’t around.

I made it clear to the teacher what wasn’t going to happen any more and if it did there would be consequences for her and the student. The teacher allowed me to speak directly to the bully. She sheepishly approached me as I laid the groundwork for future classes with my daughter and that she would never again speak to her much less bully her. I told her I knew exactly what she was doing and to stop it immediately. I told her I would not hesitate to call her mother and inform her of her obstinate behavior and get a restraining order against her. The child left the room with the fear of God in her by the time I finished. The teacher was very appreciative of my visit but also quite aware that I meant business.

That child never bothered my daughter again.

For years, many childish bullies like this one have been getting away with their distasteful rhetoric and in some cases violence. We have laws that haven’t been enforced but should be that would help close the door on such vile conduct.

The decision I made to handle this the way I did, came about after much prayer and seeking God for answers as to how to deal with it. As a nation, we need to be searching God’s heart for His guidance to find solutions to steer people in His direction.

NO one gets away with anything. Any maybe that needs to be preached on every street corner in America.

“The Patriots comeback is a confirmation of the comeback for America I began on November 8th, 2016.”

My entire mindset changed.

Thanking God for his goodness and mercy, the Super Bowl took on a whole new meaning. It wasn’t about a game, or a halftime show or who won or lost.

It was about God showing up in one of the most watched TV programs of the year and making a statement about Himself.

It was about how for some reason God likes football???????

It was about how God can use any format to deliver his messages.

But mostly He was telling me to be hopeful about America. He was letting me know He has plans for this country that are for good and not evil, for a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) He heard and listened to our prayers; from those of us who for years have been on our knees crying out for forgiveness to heal our land.(2 Chronicles 7:14)

No matter how bad it looks right now with all the protests, vandalism and criminal behavior, God is reforming our nation to be a leader for other nations for His kingdom. He is literally shaking the evil to root it out. The enemy will continue his battles but once again, he has been dealt a huge blow.

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